I'd Love to Meet Your Lover

σ(っд;)っ What just happened!? Beside them, Xifulin and Annan were utterly dumbfounded by the Veela's words. They had envisioned many times what kind of clash would erupt when the Veela and the Sword Princess crossed paths, but in most of those scenarios, the Veela would crumple at the first blow while the Sword Princess scored an overwhelming victory. There was simply no helping it—the Veela was far too soft and timid, carrying about as much threat as a Lalafell. How could she possibly match the vicious, bloodthirsty Sword Princess? Never in their wildest dreams did they expect the Veela, completely oblivious to what she was doing, to land such a brutal, piercing strike right in the Sword Princess's heart! Yet, faced with Freya's unwitting, devastating gut punch, Sonia remained surprisingly calm. She countered, "Then can you accept your lover kissing someone else's mouth, holding someone else in his heart, and tangling intimately with someone else's body?" "If I found out, I'd probably still feel a little sad," Freya admitted honestly. "But as long as he truly loves me, I'll be so happy that the sadness won't matter." Sonia reached out, ruffled the Veela's hair, and said softly, "I know he truly loves me, but I also know he truly loves other people too. If he were just messing around, maybe I could let it go—but that isn't who he is. "To be honest, I've thought about leaving him so many times, but every single time, he pulls me right back." Remembering the past, Sonia couldn't help but chuckle. "He said that even if I got married, he'd still climb through my window every night to have an affair. Don't you think there's something wrong with his head?" "That's so romantic," Freya murmured, little heart bubbles practically floating in her eyes. "He's just taking advantage of the fact that I like him to bully me." Sonia stretched lazily and smiled. "Besides, deep down, I refuse to admit defeat." "Admit defeat?" "The thing I hate most in the world is losing. The thought of stepping aside voluntarily and watching someone else snatch him away makes my blood boil. Why shouldn't everyone else give up and let me have him all to myself?" Sonia cast a sideways glance at Feili and Niya. "So I won't accept it, and I won't give up. "Sure, I can't fully accept the way he is, but why should the choices only be me walking away or me compromising? Why can't he be the one to accommodate me? "So many people get to have complete, perfect happiness. Why shouldn't I?" Freya blinked. "But what if he doesn't change?" "I might never escape his clutches." Sonia leaned back languidly in her chair, crossed her legs, and fixed her bright, steady ruby eyes on the horizon. "But does he honestly think he can escape mine? "If he wouldn't let me go even if he had to climb through my window, do you think I'd just let him go and look for someone else? Sooner or later, he'll learn that unless he makes me overflow with bliss, I will never let him have what he wants either! "Maybe this relationship will make me worry, hurt me, and change me, but I'll pay him back tenfold for every bit of it!" Sonia tightened her grip on her holy grail and laughed softly. "We'll repeat our past mistakes and torment each other, and neither of us will stop until we're battered and bruised. "Freya, if your resolution is that no matter what kind of person he is, you'll spend your whole life by his side, then my resolution is that no matter what he's like, we'll love and kill each other to the bitter end." Xifulin nudged Annan. Annan, however, looked perfectly calm—after all, the Witch was the one who ought to panic, not her. Truth be told, Annan had never sought lifelong devotion anyway. She was a career woman through and through; she merely wanted to call Yaxiu over late at night when boredom struck, perhaps to play a little poker and review some elementary school textbooks. Freya blinked as she listened. "My, I'm really curious what kind of person your lover is." "He's alright, I suppose," Sonia said reservedly. "If he hadn't relentlessly pestered me and confessed over and over, I would never have jumped into that fire pit in the first place." The annals of history were rewritten once more, shifting from 'he confessed first' to 'he confessed over and over.' "Still, from where I stand, his strength is average, his techniques are unrefined, he's reckless and impulsive, completely lacks situational awareness, dives headfirst into danger knowing full well what's coming, and constantly attracts other women. Only someone like me would ever like him!" Sonia huffed twice, then asked, "Though I'm quite curious about the one you fancy, Freya. Exactly what sort of man is worth giving your everything for?" "Him? He's powerful, deeply learned in sorcery, brave, confident, and has a strong sense of responsibility, so he always draws the attention of many exceptional women." Freya's eyes brimmed with starry admiration as she clenched her fists. "But I'll definitely become someone worthy of him!" "Is he really that impressive?" Sonia murmured in wonder. "I'd love to meet someone like that." "I want to meet your lover too," Freya said. "He was in an astral projection earlier, so I didn't get to see him." Beside them, Xifulin and Annan were about to suffer internal injuries from holding it in, pinching each other's thighs just to keep from bursting out laughing. "Why hasn't the holy grail started teleporting us yet?" Tamashi, who had zero interest in romantic chatter, suddenly asked. The group started, only then realizing they had been resting for quite a while, yet the holy grails still sat quietly in the hands of Sonia and Niya. "Could it be that only the Colorless Holy Grail triggers teleportation?" Feili ventured. *Boom!* At that very moment, the entire Dream Heaven violently shook. The Rainbow Holy Grails coalesced by Sonia and Freya erupted with pillars of light, piercing through the scene and turning into two rainbows spanning the sky curtain. Not just theirs—pillars of light shot up from several other locations as well. In an instant, five vibrant rainbows and five colorless rainbows stretched across the expanse above! Xifulin and Annan let out startled gasps—their half-formed Holy Grail Fragments had vanished! "The Holy Grail War is over," Sonia realized immediately. "No more than ten holy grails can be formed here!" *Rumble!* As seven of the rainbows merged together, Sonia and the others experienced a simultaneous scene transition. By the time their senses returned, they found themselves transported to a metropolis splashed with vibrant colors. Far off in the city center stood a towering rainbow pillar of light. They weren't alone. Shouts and calls from sorcerers echoed in every direction—it seemed every sorcerer had been teleported here! "This must be the final stage." Sonia gazed at the distant rainbow pillar. "He's right up ahead—" Before she could finish, Niya bolted forward, with Sonia and Feili hot on her heels. Freya called out to her companions, "Let's go too!" Tamashi had no objection. Xifulin and Annan exchanged a glance, racing after them with feelings both apprehensive and eagerly anticipant. They vaguely sensed that something utterly horrifying and monumental was about to unfold... *** Yaxiu suddenly gave a shudder. Beside him, Diya asked, "What's wrong?" "Just felt a sudden twinge of nerves. Probably because of that tremor just now." Yaxiu glanced back at the city behind them, taking Diya's hand as they crossed the intersection. The rainbow pillar of light stood right before them. Only when they drew near did they realize the sky-piercing column had a radius exceeding a hundred meters. In front of it, they were as insignificant as ants. Two silhouettes stood before the light pillar. One was their familiar acquaintance Yinzhi, while the other was an orange-haired man in beach shorts and a hooded sun-protection jacket, looking like a tourist on vacation. The demon Lehuai! Yinzhi looked back at them and asked, "Does our agreement still stand?" "Of course," Yaxiu said. "Eh?" Lehuai paused. "You guys..." Before he could finish his sentence, Yinzhi, Diya, and Yaxiu lunged toward him in unison!